A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

Henry looked surprised at the question and then he realized the look in Elminster's eyes was the gleam of a man looking to make a steal. A trading steal, of course.

He smiled secretly and gathered himself to say calmly,

"I was actually planning on using it to craft something for myself."

As he spoke, Henry stretched a hand out to indicate to the Craftsman that he wanted it back but was surprised when the gleam in Elminster's eyes seemed to grow brighter.

"Oh, even better," the old man said with a small

Laugh.

"Better?" Henry asked.

Elminster nodded,

"Well, I'll get to work with it still," he said and then seemed to notice Henry's surprise as he added,

"Were you planning on handing it to someone else to work on?"

Henry just blinked looking like he was not sure what to say.

He had said he wanted to use the orb for himself because one of the best ways to hike up a price is to mention personal interest which in turn showed a reluctance to sell. Probably the only way better was to mention a mystery second buyer bidding higher.

Of course, all ways of getting higher pay for an object hunger on interest in the buyer. Interest that Henry had been trying to gauge and now seemed to have turned into something else.

"Like anyone could do a better job," Elminster said with a scoff and when Henry was still silent, he added with furrowed brows,

"You know, I'm almost offended you would even think of it."

"I'm not thinking of anything. You can do it," Henry said.

"Good," Elminster said with a nod.

He set the orb down and with a flick of his wrist, a rectangular pad appeared floating in mid-air. He was now gripping a feathered pen that he started to drag across the pad while he stroked his beard with his free hand,

"So how about a subtle placement? The center of a Helmet perhaps…"

"I don't do helmets," Henry said, "How about a weapon? A gun would be nice."

A gun was the only thing he'd want.

Elminster frowned,

"Won't work," he said after a moment of scrutinizing the orb,

"There's more to do with gun-making than just slotting in a Virtutis. And this one is not quite good enough for that. Something else."

Henry furrowed his brows at that, not sure he quite believed and then he sighed,

"Still not a helmet. How about a Hat?"

"A hat?" Elminster said and then cocked his head to the side,

"I'm hardly a Milliner but I think I'll manage. A Hat it is then!"

Elminster scratched off the diagram of the Helmet that he had already started and his pen-holding hand moved across the rectangular pad for about a quarter of a minute more before he turned it toward to show to Henry.

"I like it," Henry said immediately.

For a drawing that had been created in seconds, Elminster's 'sketch' was quite detailed with different angles drawn to show how it would look completely. As Henry's eyes roamed the designs, his eyes fell on a small circle at the very center of the Hat.

The circle couldn't have been more than two inches wide and Henry doubted it would be too much bigger than that when the Hat was actually made.

"Is that meant to be the orb?" He asked as he pointed at the small circle that was a bright orange.

Elminster nodded, Continue your adventure at m|v-l'e m,p| y- r

"Yes. The Virtutis should be front and center. It's where it would be if I were making a Helmet instead."

"Will you break it?" Henry asked.

Elminster shook his head,

"Breaking it could damage it, so no."

"Then how will get it that little," Henry asked.

"Don't worry about that," Elminster said as he snagged the orb off his slab and sent it away before peering hard into Henry, face,

"Let's discuss my fee."

And now Henry understood why Elminster had really said 'even better' about working on the Orb rather than buying it.

If Elminster had bought the Orb, he'd have observed it, used it to craft something, and maybe sold it off in the future but seeing as the old man was currently taking a 'limited sale' stance, and would also involve conditions on the sale, that could take years.

This, however, was better for Elminster because he'd get to study the orb and create something with it and still get paid a good bit of gold while likely also still placing conditions on the trade.

Henry frowned. He felt played.

Elminster noticed the expression and rolled his eyes,

"Oh, don't give me that look," he said, "Did you think it'd be free?"

"Fine," Henry said with a shrug. He'd just push his payment as far back as he possibly could.

Elminster went off into discussing the price of his workmanship. He priced high, of course, and even after much negotiations, Henry was only able to shave off a few hundred Gold.

He was filled with trepidation when he pulled out the next piece of crafting material he had gotten in the Dungeon;

The Abominable Ribcage.

Elminster's eyes bugged slightly at the sight of it and his nose wrinkled but it didn't exactly have a scent… It had an aura. A terrible aura.

"Abominable…" Elminster said like that was just the only word he could use to describe what he was sensing.

"Can it be used to craft?" Henry asked tentatively.

"Of course," Elminster answered, "It's magical. If I can tap into its magic, it could make a good material.

What would you like to make with it?"

"Oh," Henry said, staring at the Ribcage.

Because illustrations in the Inventory interface were not always to scale and this was the first time he was seeing the Ribcage in person, he was surprised it was so small.

To have supported the frame of the Monstrosity, Henry expected something more giant. The system's description had even alluded to this. The only explanation Henry had was that the system had reduced it to a more manageable size just so he could use it.

"I'm not sure I want to use it," Henry eventually said.

"Why?" Elminster asked.

"It looks cursed," Henry answered.

"That's because it is," Elminster answered and when Henry looked up at him wondering why he would, in his right senses, use such a thing, the old man continued,

"The magic here is offensive but it doesn't have to be against you. When crafted well, it can be a curse on your opponents, and who better to craft it than yours truly."

"You're just fishing for more work and sinking me into more debt," Henry said wrinkling his nose.

Elminster laughed then and his flowing white beard trembled,

"Guilty. But everything I said is truth."

Henry considered it. A curse on his enemies. He couldn't bring himself to reach out and touch the ribcage and as he watched it, his lips pressed into a hard line at the sacrifices that made it possible. Was it right to turn around and use them for his own gain?

Eventually, he shook his head and said solemnly,

"Do it."

"Oh really?" Elminster said with a bit of surprise,

"When you shook your head, I thought your decision would go the other way."

"No. Do it." Henry repeated.

Elminster nodded,

"Alright," he said and then became thoughtful, "You wanted a Hat instead of a Helmet so I suppose you wouldn't want Armor then."

"Armor would wear me down," Henry admitted.

"I can make it very light," Elminster said offhandedly while he scribbled on his rectangular pad.

Henry shook his head,

"Nah, don't want it."

"Alright," Elminster said in that same offhand tone and then he turned the rectangular pad around for Henry to look at.

It was a Vest with emblazoned designs that stood out brilliantly. The ribs of the ribcage came around to hug it in the sides and despite the macabre manner the Abominable ribcage came to be, Henry could not deny the Vest had a beauty about it.

Horrid beauty, but beauty nonetheless.